Trapped With You
by RoyallyMadHatter
Summary: Shiroe is starting to think that he's less trapped by the video game than he is trapped by his boyfriend. (KrustyxShiroe) (One-Shots and some drabbles) (SHONEN-AI/BOYXBOY) (Might be Rated M in the future?) (Many credits to Kagari Higuchi for being my lovely plot bunny!)
1. Sleeptalking

OMGEE this pairing. All of those hidden moments and UGH why is there no fanbase for them!

I wrote this to calm my feels and I hope I can make an actual story for them someday. Drabbles are all I can manage right now though.

I'll try to add plot and stuff but... uhh... just go with it for now. XD

* * *

"You dream about me _every_ night. I'm flattered, really."

Shiroe feels a shiver go down his spine at Krusty's voice. He squints his eyes and doesn't move his cheek from its place on a lumpy pillow. Instead, he propels his arm in an attempt to punch the source of the irritating voice. It doesn't make contact with a face, unfortunately, and his fist is caught easily.

Before he can yank his hand back, another hand is wrapped around his wrist and he's pulled forward close enough to feel warmth radiating from Krusty's body.

"Who says I dream about _you_?" Shiroe pushes his bangs to the side and rubs at his eyes. The hand around his wrist loosens but doesn't let go.

"You." Krusty pushes Shiroe's hand away and pins it to the bed to stop him from rubbing at his eyes.

"I thought we agreed that I lie more than I tell the truth." Shiroe whines while attempting to free his hand.

"I think the sheer embarrassment of what you reveal when you sleeptalk is enough to prove it's all the truth." Krusty smirks and pulls Shiroe closer so their bodies touch.

"What did I reveal, hmm?" Behind his calm demeanor, Shiroe secretly hopes that he didn't say anything near what he dreamt about.

"Oh nothing, just moaning my name in that adorable voice of yours," Krusty slips his hand underneath Shiroe's t-shirt and lunges forward to whisper in his ear, "over and over again."

Shiroe wants to die so badly. But screw this world-he would just come back.

When he groans in frustration, Krusty just chuckles and proceeds to passionately kiss the life out of the eager and embarrassed half-Alv.

Technically, Krusty had exaggerated some of the details of Shiroe's sleeptalking habits but it was definitely worth it. It was too much fun to mess with Shiroe's mind and jumble up the prodigy's thoughts.

* * *

Umm... I actually made another drabble... but I don't usually post such... suggestive...erm.. things. ^/^ if you're interested... well don't be.

or let me know. cause I can hook you up. LOL. running away now.

**EDIT** Chapter 2 is the drabble ;3


	2. Maintenance

Omg this is so short. But **Kagari Higuchi**, your review was so fast that I needed to get this out like now. LOL.

Especially since I might not be able to post anything for the next two days. ;A;

Dedicated to you and hopefully we'll be joined by other Krusty/Shiroe shippers? :D

**AHEM. COUGH COUGH THIS IS A BIT MORE YAOI ZONED, but there's no #$ %!^ yet. So it's kinda light. Or kinda heavy for some people, I guess?**

* * *

"Stay here. I'll be back soon."

"You're not giving me much of a choice, are you?!"

"This is what happens when you try to hide things from me. You're terrible at that by the way, Shiroe-_kun_."

"I wasn't hiding anything, you just never asked! And you can't call someone terrible at hiding things when you're just too good at eavesdropping."

"Not eavesdropping-maintenance."

"You hacked into my messaging system."

"Maintenance."

"Was this really necessary?"

Krusty had handcuffed Shiroe's hands behind his back, tied him to the bed, kept his magic items _far_ far away and forced a pill down his throat-during a kiss-that would keep him from using magic for a long period of time.

"God you thought of everything." Shiroe struggled to get out of the handcuffs which ultimately failed. A line of saliva spilled down his chin from when Krusty forced the pill into his mouth (despite his violent resisting) and it was so tempting.

"I even told Akatsuki that I would be ravishing you all day today." Krusty smiled at the thought of the blushing retreating assassin. He would definitely ravish him later that day, but there were some more pressing things that he needed to deal with.

"You're horrible." Shiroe panted as he tried to recover his breath from thrashing around so much. He gasped as he started feeling sleepy.

"You didn't." He said as he felt his eyelids getting heavier.

"I'll make it up to you later." Krusty leaned forward and the last thing Shiroe remembered was being kissed before he had drifted off to sleep.

Krusty knew where Shiroe's ex-boyfriend was and he had important plans to send him to the Cathedral a few... hundred times.

* * *

Shipppppp. Plus it's just a close friend of Shiroe's but Krusty doesn't believe him anyway.

Krusty will forever be his one and only.


	3. Subclass

:) umbreonblue I agree with you~ Shiroe is more of the villain though ;D

Sorry guys, I spent less time on this drabble mostly because I'm a bit tired. I just wanted to relax a bit so I wrote this up. Hope you enjoy it! :D

* * *

"You should have made your subclass a Dancer." Krusty stated with a smirk as he sliced at the enemies in front of them.

"You should have made your subclass a Cleaner." Shiroe smirked back and used Thorn Bind Hostage on the enemies in front of Krusty.

"You should've been a Housekeeper." Krusty pushed up his glasses and destroyed the binded enemies.

"You should've been a Fortune Teller." Shiroe pushed up his glasses and examined the stats windows.

"Dairy Farmer."

"Brewer."

They both looked at each other while simultaneously destroying the enemies around them. Krusty looked like he was contemplating what to say when a smile spread across his face.

"Butler. I think it suits you."

Shiroe bit his lip and Krusty laughed at his failed attempt to think of anything worse. But then Shiroe sneered back at him.

"Elder Maid. _I think it suits you._"

"Hey, that's cheating. It's only a subclass for the people of the land."

"I'm a scribe. I can make it happen for you." Shiroe zapped the enemies in front of them and Krusty pictured him sneaking a contract on his desk. He made a mental note to actually read everything thoroughly from now on.

"Your turn." Shiroe said triumphantly as he faked a yawn.

"Don't get impatient now, princess." Krusty dodged an incoming punch and suddenly it came to him.

"Rose Garden Princess."

"I hate you."

"Love you too."

Krusty had to avoid a Nightmare Sphere this time, but he used the chance to pull Shiroe towards him into a kiss.

"I think they forgot we were here." Naotsugu hid his laugh in his hand and Akatsuki covered her eyes. Shiroe made incoherent noises and extinguished his Magic Light so they wouldn't be putting on a show.

"It's an open secret by now." Misa sighed. Members of D.D.D. just snickered.

"With that, we'll be on our way." Krusty suddenly disappeared taking Shiroe with him.

* * *

To clear some things up:

Log Horizon wiki (which is awesome btw) has information on all of the subclasses. AND believe it or not. Rose Garden Princess is a subclass. Raynesia has it. XD

The definition for the Butler subclass was like so $%)*(&%^##&$^#*%*(*%#*^$%#&

Notice how Krusty picks all the hawt subclasses for Shiroe. Yup.

And yes this was pretty OOC and I apologize, but the next one will be better hopefully.

I HAVE NOTHING AGAINST THESE SUBCLASSES. It was just aiming towards things that Shiroe and Krusty wouldn't be comfortable doing. :3

Misa is that girl that's always with Krusty. I don't plan on putting any OCs in these drabbles.

I guess this is a D.D.D. and Log Horizon raid or something. Yes, the guild leaders abandoned their guilds in the middle of a dungeon.


	4. Telepathy

EiraLuna, Hyoketsu, Sirae: Awhhhh, I'm glad you guys like it!

Kagariiiiii, I love youuuuuuu.

Hope you guys like this one-cough-its a bit yaoi-ish SO BRACE YOURSELVES.

Idea credited to Kagari Higuchi! ;D ;D ;D This is a spin-off of episode 12 when Shiroe is using telepathy to talk to Minori.

Check out the author's note at the bottom!

* * *

"Shiroe-san? Can you talk right now?"

"Oh, Minori. What's up?" Shiroe smiled at the sound of his pupil's voice. She was probably going through some difficulties just like he did during his first dungeon.

"Tomorrow we're going to a dungeon."

Shiroe figured Minori was also probably insecure about her current level. He looked up at the ceiling and leaned back on the couch.

"Worried? It's true that at your current level, it may be a bit rough." Suddenly, Shiroe felt the couch sink and pried his gaze away from the ceiling towards a familiar body. He took in a quick breath before being suddenly hyperaware of a knee sliding between his legs. Using both of his hands he tried to push the other away when his wrists were grabbed.

"I'm worried I'll slow everyone down." Shiroe wanted _Krusty_ to slow down. He suddenly felt pressure on his lips when a tongue slipped in. Thank god this was telepathy and he could control he wanted to say.

"Naotsugu and the other trainers won't be there..." He sent Krusty a glare but the latter just smirked and flipped them around so Shiroe landed on his lap.

"Listen to me, Minori..." He felt Krusty roll his hips and he couldn't move from where he was. A firm grip on his hips made him squirm pathetically.

"You aren't... aren't alone." He was trying to come up with something more clever than that when Krusty decided to run his hands under his shirt. He touched _ everywhere_.

"And there's...there's more to a battle than-than your level." Krusty began to suck on his neck and he **really** didn't want a mark there since it would be such a bad impression to the People of the Land and-oh god was he pinching his-ugh.

"Do you remember... the basics... of party combat that I-I taught you?" He sighed when Krusty began to blow on his neck and that was his worst weakness-which he couldn't believe Krusty found out about so soon in their relationship. Shiroe struggled to get away when Krusty flipped them one more time and he was sprawled across the couch.

"Oh, yes! Just a second..." He was trying to tell the same thing to Krusty but he wasn't going to give him any milliseconds, let alone one.

"Formation, operator, field monitor... And patrol teams, right?" Krusty started licking at his ear and he couldn't breathe when a knee dropped snugly between his legs despite his desperate attempts to keep them closed. A tongue slipped between his lips for the second time that day and he was **not** going to corrupt Minori.

"If you remember...remember-remember that, you'll be alright. You can do-do it." Shiroe slapped his head mentally at his terrible concentration.

"Are you alright, Shiroe-san? You sound like you're struggling with something."

"No! No, I'm fine. I just-" Shiroe suddenly realized Krusty wasn't doing anything at the moment which couldn't mean anything good. He noticed an invite to a group telepathy floating in the air and Krusty made him tap it.

"Hi Minori, bye Minori." Krusty said and immediately ended the entire chat by manipulating Shiroe some more.

"What the-"

"I think you've done enough flirting for one day, Shiroe-kun."

"Why did you-I wasn't-she's like a middle schooler-ah."

And let's just say that the next day when they were eating, Krusty did not ask if he slept well for the reason everyone else thought.

* * *

I hope you guys liked this chapter and my weirdness.

If you ever want a certain idea or drabble written up then feel free to review/pm me it.

I felt like I had something else to say... but I forgot, of course. LOL

:3 bye then.


	5. Quest Me

To my reviewers with accounts, I'm sending you private messages ;D

**Uhuhu**: haha I see what you did there. I'll probably make something err mature-ish in the future, but it might be a side story. Make an account so I can stalk youuuu XD

There are some round table members that you might not recognize, no OCs.

And also that awkward drabble that I mentioned in Chapter 1 is actually Chapter 2. ;D

Once again kudos to Kagari Higuchi for the idea and the pretty title! ^^ d'awh I love you so much afjghernjdsvnbfw.

* * *

"He's late." Isaac drums his fingers on the table.

"That's rare for Shiroe-senpai." Soujirou says worriedly.

"Maybe Krusty-san knows where he is." Karashin grins. Krusty smiles back unfazed.

"Dating isn't the same as stalking, Karashin-san." The others laugh and Karashin bites his lip.

"Actually, I believe Shiroe said something about Log Horizon undertaking a quest this morning. I didn't think he'd be so late." Marielle says in concern.

"All of Log Horizon's members are level 90, are they not?" Eins crosses his arms.

"There are some members who are beginners, but they didn't go on this mission." Marielle runs a hand through her hair.

"That evil guy taking in beginners huh." Michitaka chuckles a little at the thought.

"What quest did he take?" Krusty leans back in his chair.

"I don't know... but he isn't answering my calls. I'll try calling the others." Marielle says. But at that moment, the door flings open.

"Guys! During the quest, Shiroe..." Naotsugu pauses to catch his breath.

"He... suddenly passed out." Naotsugu glances quickly at Krusty who raised his eyebrow.

"Lack of sleep maybe?" Roderick suggests but Naotsugu shakes his head in reply.

"Well actually..." Naotsugu pauses for a minute.

"Go on." Isaac rests his chin on the palm of his hand.

"...the quest we went on was a hidden quest. After we completed it, the quest giver said the quest wasn't over yet and put him to sleep."

"Where's the quest giver?" Akaneya asks.

"She disappeared. There's a quest mark hovering over Shiroe, but there's no hint as to what it means. No matter what we do, he won't wake up."

"We'll hold off on the Round Table topics today. We need Shiroe-kun awake soon, especially since people might try to take advantage of his absence." Woodstock announces.

"We're leaving him in his room until we figure out what to do." Naotsugu scratches his head.

"Why don't we discuss how to get him awake?" Isaac motions for Naotsugu to sit down. He takes Shiroe's seat.

"What was the name of the quest giver? Is there anything important about her that could be a clue?" Roderick offers.

"I think her name was 'Mistress of All Evil'." Naotsugu shrugs.

"Typical Shiroe-senpai." Soujirou shakes his head.

"But seriously-you guys did a quest for someone named 'Mistress of All Evil'?" Michitaka tilts his head disbelievingly.

"I mean technically NPCs _are_ given obscure names. I remember one named "Annoying Girl" or something." Karashin mentions.

"Annoying Girl and Mistress of **ALL EVIL** are two different things, man." Michitaka replies.

"I think we're getting off point, gentlemen." Eins sighs.

"Don't worry, I'll figure it out." Krusty stands up and walks out of the room.

"Wait where are you-ah nevermind." Isaac rolls his eyes.

"So um. Was Annoying Girl hot?" Michitaka asked.

"Actually she was-"

"Guys." Akaneya sighs.

"She turned out to be a Soujirou fan so."

"Ah."

"GUYS."

* * *

Krusty made it to Shiroe's room and put away his armor in favor of some light clothing. Entering the room, he noticed Shiroe lying on his bed and as Naotsugu had said, there was a bright question mark over his head.

Ignoring it, Krusty sat on the side of the bed and watched the other tenderly. He lazily brings his hand up towards Shiroe's hair and runs his hand through it.

The defenseless half-alv reminds Krusty of the many times Shiroe had fallen asleep waiting for him to come home. It was cute, really.

"What are you trying to do, Shiroe-kun?" Krusty says, letting it sink into the air.

"Because if you're trying to run away," he leans down so their faces are centimeters apart, "it won't work." He closes the space between their lips and kisses him.

Suddenly, Shiroe's eyes flutter open and he makes a squeamish noise. Once he realizes that it's Krusty, he calms down and his eyes dilate. He starts to kiss back passionately, when Krusty pulls away with a laugh. He pouts a little and then starts to get up.

"I'm guessing Naotsugu was able to figure the quest out, right?" Shiroe rubs his eyes and Krusty gently turns his yawning boyfriend's head towards him into another kiss.

Midway, he smirks, "Nope. He had no idea."

* * *

"What, are you stupid or something?!" Shiroe aims toward Naotsugu as he enters the round table conference room.

"Shiro, you're awake! Wait what?" Naotsugu tilts his head unknowingly.

"Oh my god. You're an idiot." Shiroe pushes him out of his chair and sits down slamming his head against the table.

"Huh?" Naotsugu gets up and the others listen in.

"The quest giver turned into a green witch, with black horns."

"So...?"

"She had a black and purple cape, a yellow staff and a _raven_."

"Wasn't it a parrot?"

"She turned into a dragon, Naotsugu."

"What are you getting at?"

The others in the room who had finally understood, either facepalmed or found the situation extremely amusing. Krusty was one of the latter.

"You've never heard of sleeping beauty?!"

"Wait, but wasn't the witch named Maleficent?"

"She calls herself the Mistress of Evil." Isaac explains.

"Didn't you have to prick your finger on a spinning wheel?" Naotsugu asked.

"...I did." Shiroe sighs because somehow Naotsugu had forgotten the most obvious clue in the stupid quest.

"Didn't you hear me shout 'ow', when I accepted the quest reward-a magic spinning wheel?"

"Oh right, but I thought that was just because it hurt when the quest giver made you fall asleep or something."

"I guess that makes you the one who messed up," Krusty moves up to whisper the last part into his ear, "_Shiroe-kun_."

"Wait, so Krusty woke you up?" Naotsugu asks this time with a smile, knowing exactly what he's asking. Isaac and Karashin burst into laughter somewhere in the background.

Shiroe earned the title 'Sleeping Beauty' and as punishment, Krusty makes him keep it up (hovering above his name) for a week. He decides to stay in his locked room for the week doing paperwork and Krusty takes a leave from his guild to spend time with a very annoyed Shiroe.

On the last day, Krusty pulls something out and teleports them both into Akihabara where they hear many many whistles and catcalls. Shiroe was not amused.

* * *

Okay, I guess Shiroe pricking his finger by accident on the quest reward was a bit of a stretch. But hey, why not?

If you play mmorpg games like me, then you'll probably know what the title thing is. Grand Fantasia and Aura Kingdom have them where you earn titles and can put them over your head. :D

Hope you enjoyed this and just so you guys know, from now on the chapters will be more like one-shots instead of drabbles (though I might post a drabble if I don't have enough time to write).

;D reviews?


	6. Spoon Violation

You guys are so sweeeeeeet! :D

I should have sent replies to those of you who reviewed, if not please feel free to hit me

...up. Hit me up. (heehee) ;D

So I basically received requests for a remake of the episode 22 which is the cake buffet episode. This will take place during the cake buffet episode and it's an AU.

This one is a drabble, but I'm willing to continue it if you guys shoot me some more ideas. BUT I FEEL SO BAD FOR GOING MISSING, THIS IS GOING UP EARLY. (School is taking over my life omg sorry)

I hope you all enjoy this and of course another shout-out to Kagari Higuchi! :D

* * *

"If we go as a couple then we'll get free cake!"

Shiroe watches as the girls look at each other in shock at saying the same thing.

"So we should go together!" They say in unison and stare at each other once again. He scratches the back of his neck and takes a deep breath. He's extremely tempted to say yes, but then a shiver goes down his spine and he realizes that his life would be in danger if he doesn't somehow refuse them.

While he's thinking of a clever response to smoothly get through this, he gets a telepathy call. Excusing himself from the pouting girls, he accepts the call without bothering to read the name. This would buy more time to think of a good excuse and-

_"Shiroe-kun."_

The shivers come back immediately. Shiroe's mind goes blank and the excuses he might've thought up of are long gone.

God, the voice Krusty uses is literally the same as his sex voice.

"Yes?" Shiroe realizes that he says that in a higher pitch which doesn't make sense because how does your voice crack in your head?

"You're doing it again."

"What?" Shiroe needs his thought voice to hurry up and hit puberty or else it'll hit levels that it won't be able to recover from.

"That thing that happens to your voice when there's something you don't want me to know." Krusty sounds extremely amused as Shiroe pleads to himself to fix that someday.

"And how would _you_ know this?" Shiroe is pleased with his fierce retort and the lack of response from the other end. But then Krusty's voice becomes deeper and... _closer._

"Because when we have sex and you're trying to stay quiet-" Shiroe makes really loud coughing noises, not only in his head but also out loud and the two girls simply eye him suspiciously.

"But that's-"

"I always find out eventually. You of all people should know that, Shiroe-kun."

"Augh-I'll take care of it now, so _**bye**_." Shiroe immediately hung up and turned towards the two girls. He took a deep breath and gave them both a little pleading wink.

"I'm actually going with Krusty-san." He held back the blush that was threatening to show on his face.

"Oh." The two girls stared in awe and they ended up giggling a little.

"In that case, Shiroe-san, we hope you have fun!" Minori hid a smile behind her hand.

"It's umm not exactly in the way you think-" _It was probably exactly what she thought._

* * *

"I didn't know you were into strawberry." Shiroe motioned towards the shortcake on the table.

"Oh?"

"I pegged you to be more of a chocolate person." Shiroe poked a cheesecake with his spoon and spun it inside. The idea of getting free cake was nice, but they didn't particularly need to save money or anything.

Gently, he felt his wrist being pulled, Krusty taking his spoon and licking the cheesecake off of it.

"I like cheesecake too." He smirked, then loosened his grip on Shiroe's wrist and Shiroe smoothly slipped out.

"Stop violating my spoon please." He hid his smile and took another bite.

"Are you saying I should violate something else?" Krusty said while resting his cheek on the palm of his hand.

"Soujirou isn't into you, sorry." Shiroe answered smoothly, smiling without looking away from his cake.

"Ah, that's too bad." Krusty leaned back in his chair.

"Do you two want anymore cake?" A pretty looking waitress shuffled up to them clearly undecided on who she liked better.

"I think Shiroe-kun wants another one." Krusty smiled politely and Shiroe rolled his eyes.

"What type?" She aimed the question to Shiroe, but Krusty responded.

"The weirdest one you have."

Shiroe almost choked on his cake. Krusty held back a laugh.

"Bring one for Krusty-san too." Shiroe mentally high-fived himself for the look of slight irritation on Krusty's face.

"Coming right up!" She giggled and ran off. She was probably a shipper, actually.

"Wow, that was mature." Shiroe took another bite of cake. Krusty reached over to wipe off some remnants of cake on Shiroe's face with a napkin. The action was so natural that they both thought nothing of it.

"I wonder what the weirdest flavor is, though." Krusty chuckled.

"Oh my god, if its goblin-flavored then you're eating it. Like seriously, you aren't even allowed to pay for it and run away."

"Okay, well if it isn't goblin-flavored then I get to feed you."

"What."

* * *

Sorry guys, I really had nowhere to go with this one. I left it at that because my imagination is failing me right now. JDFKASGJSKLJ save me

I might possibly continue this drabble if you guys shoot me some ideas? PWEESEEEE

AND SO SORRY FOR THE LATE UPDATE AGAIN UGH SCHOOL.

The next fic will probably be angsty and feely (I'll be using one of my own ideas for that one) so look forward to it maybe? ^^


	7. Close Your Eyes (Part 1)

Does anyone hear that?

It sounds like... SPRING BREAK. OMG WHAT.

Hikaru Einsberg: MAKE AN ACCOUNT SO I CAN STALK YOUUUUU LOLOLOL AND D'AWH IM GLAD YOU'RE NOW A SHIPPER **latches onto you**

I went on a tiny hiatus because yeah. BUT THIS IS THE BREAK SO. It's not my fault because life. We have to wait until fall for LG and I cry.

SORRY ABOUT MY INABILITY TO FINISH SENTENCES.

I'm not sure if I really pulled off the whole angst thing correctly but for a first shot, I don't think I completely butchered any KruShi. XD

ENJOY!

* * *

Getting up in the morning felt like dying over and over again.

He wasn't surprised anymore. The long nights in bed staring out the window. The curtains blowing in and out and in and out and in and out.

How long has it been since he had an actual night of sleep?

Shiroe writes up plans, he solves problems. When the people around him start to whisper "when does this guy sleep?" it takes all the strength he has to not shout out the truth. That he _doesn't_ sleep. Of course, nobody seemed to think it was possible to _not_ sleep and frankly it isn't. But they didn't know that he couldn't go for more than an hour before he jolted awake at night. The insomnia was probably permanent.

It all started on the day he found out he was trapped in Elder Tale. That small hope that the logout button was broken disappeared after the first month. The idea of having powers and being invincible was entertaining, yes. He was sure many would **die** to be in his position. Then again, those people don't know what it feels like to really **die**. Life wasn't meant to be a dream and he wanted to wake up from this one.

Maybe that was why his body wouldn't let him sleep. All he could do is wake up until he was _tired _of sleeping.

Every minute his mind slips to thoughts of dying. Thoughts of suicide. Even though he knows he can't die, maybe he won't wake up this time.

He doesn't even feel it when the knife slices through his chest and he wakes up in the Cathedral. He can't tell if any of his memories are missing, but a part of him can't help but want to forget.

* * *

"Shiroe-kun."

Whatever he was thinking about took a moment to flicker in his mind and slowly evaporate. Krusty observed him, waiting for a response.

"Um-sorry what?" The surroundings around Shiroe started to fill in and he turned his attention back to the members of the Round Table.

"What are we deciding to do about it?" Isaac pressed, rapping his fingers on the table. Shiroe didn't know how to respond to that without revealing that he wasn't listening the whole time. Luckily, Krusty cut in.

"It's been a long day, so let's call it a day for now. We'll pick up here tomorrow."

As if it was an announcement from the school principal, the others in the room stretched their arms out and funneled out of the room. It took Shiroe a few seconds to figure out that Krusty stayed behind.

"We were talking about the group that's camping outside Akihabara and requesting to be admitted in the town." Krusty said and Shiroe nodded. There was an awkward silence when Krusty stood up, his chair disappearing.

"You should get some sleep." He turned around and left the room before Shiroe could properly thank him.

* * *

Shiroe didn't think it would be a good idea to let the group outside Akihabara in their town without learning more about them. The Round Table had sent some spies to investigate the group, but they could only figure out a few important things: their names, classes, levels and appearances.

The group consisted of five people, all men. They were two assassins, two guardians and a priest. Surprisingly, the priest was the only level 90 while the others in the group were around the 70s. It would be a problem if a powerful group like that were to cause trouble in the town.

Normally, it wouldn't have been suspicious but apparently there were reports of player killing in the area just before this group had shown up.

The player kills were all by surprise so nobody was identified. Would this group be silly enough to show up right after killing other players? Did they assume the town wouldn't find out about it? Was it a way to throw them off? Were they even involved at all?

Shiroe sighed. He was getting nowhere fast. He needed to confront the group himself or else he wouldn't be able to make a proper decision.

Standing up from his desk, he walked over to his bedroom door and stayed in front of it for a while. Running his fingertips along the wood, he made a little scratch in it. It automatically repaired itself and Shiroe didn't move. Should he try to sleep?

Pulling away from the door, he walked back to his desk to finish the paperwork for next month.

* * *

"We should take a few representatives to confront the group today. I think Isaac, Marielle and I should go." Shiroe rested his cheek on his palm and stared down at some papers with photos and information related to the group.

"I guess confronting them would be a good idea." Krusty nodded.

"Krusty-san should stay here and lead the discussion on the other topics while we investigate. I suggested Marielle to come because she could show that we mean no harm to them." Shiroe flipped through the pages without looking up and Marielle made a small noise of agreement.

"Alright then, it's settled. Let's head out." Isaac rose from his seat and led them out.

* * *

"It's nice to meet you." The priest greeted them with the other group members close behind him.

"Likewise." Shiroe shook his hand and examined them closely. It looked like the priest was in charge here as he thought.

"So have you considered our request to enter Akihabara?" He said with a crooked smile.

Right to the point. Shiroe felt like something was off about him. Maybe they were just looking for any place to stay.

"We're sorry about making you wait. There's been reports of several player killings in the zone you were in right before you were spotted in front of the town." Shiroe explained and waited for a reaction.

"I see, but that wasn't us. Can we go into town now?" The priest said and Shiroe could've sworn he saw him tap his foot on the floor.

"I'm afraid that isn't enough to assure us." Isaac stepped up a little bit. Isaac was definitely comforting to have around.

"You're accusing us of player killing when you don't even know for sure?! That's low-we've been traveling for so long and-"

"It'll only take a few minutes to confirm and then you'll be welcome in." Marielle exclaimed brightly.

"Are you going to fight us?" Another one of them spoke up while resting his hand on what seemed like a long sword.

"Please don't misunderstand. We just need to check your player kill status." Shiroe pushed his glasses up.

"Player kill status? Since when was there something like that?" The priest looked a bit wary.

"The Round Table did some hacking and discovered a way to check to see if a player killed anyone before. It's quite reliable and it will only take a few minutes." Shiroe stepped towards the priest who hastily stepped away.

"Well, you should explain what you plan on doing before I let you do anything." The priest said rather quickly.

"It's a spell that Shiroe developed." Isaac motioned towards him.

"I don't think this is going to be safe-"

"Is there some other reason why you wouldn't want us to check?" Shiroe raised his eyebrows.

"Well-no matter if we killed people-it would be inhumane to cast us out. You don't own the game and you're just like all of us." The priest exclaimed angrily.

"And killing other players isn't inhumane?" Isaac curled his hand into a fist.

"Well that's-"

"Get out of my sight." Isaac glared at them as he turned around. Shiroe followed behind with Marielle close behind.

"You didn't need to be so harsh about it! Maybe there was a reason-" Marielle started but Shiroe stopped her.

"What he did was right. That group harmed people in the town." Shiroe explained.

"Exactly. And Shiroe, I'm a bit worried that you can lie so easily." Isaac smirked.

"You should be cautious of me." Shiroe replied smoothly. Eventually he would be able to use world class magic which would let him alter the system. But for now, it would have to wait. He took a moment to look back at the five outsiders who were discussing something amongst themselves.

Suddenly, a wave of sleepiness hit Shiroe like a bullet. His vision began to swim and the high pitched voice of Marielle calling out to him was drowned out by the fuzziness.

Then he blacked out.

* * *

"Sleep deprivation?"

"Yes, he should be fine after some more rest."

"That's good to hear."

"Um there's something else."

"What is it?"

"It seems like Shiroe-kun hasn't been sleeping at all recently."

"Really?"

"He's been out for only an hour and it looks like he's going to wake up soon."

"Should we put him under a sleeping spell?"

"I think sedatives would work better."

Shiroe sighed and sat up in bed, startling the two men.

"Are you okay?" Eins stared cautiously at him as if he had committed some type of crime. It just added to the headache Shiroe was trying to snap out of. He ran his hands through his hair and took a deep breath.

"Yeah I'm fine." Shiroe moved to get up but Krusty lifted a sword to his neck and wordlessly stopped him. Eins gave Krusty a look as if questioning Shiroe's response.

"If this is the how you treat patients in this hospital, I would hate to be a janitor here." Shiroe pushed the sword away.

"He's fine. Still has enough energy to be cheeky." Krusty ignored his remark and Shiroe contemplated throwing a pillow at him.

"I'll be back to check on him but I have some matters to attend to. Aren't you busy with D.D.D.?" Eins raised an eyebrow.

"I have some time." Krusty answered and Eins left the room.

"Thanks a lot, but I should really get out of bed now." Shiroe waited for a response and when he didn't get one, he draped his legs over the side of the bed.

"Why haven't you been sleeping?" Krusty asked and Shiroe shrugged.

"I don't know."

"You know that's not the answer I'm looking for."

Shiroe crossed his arms and pursed his lips.

"Well too bad because that's the answer I gave you. Now if you'll excuse me-"

"Why are you trying to endure on your own?" Krusty asked with seemingly no weight on his words. However, Shiroe could feel the genuine curiosity in them.

"Because it's better that way." Shiroe walked past him and out the door.

* * *

"Are you sure it's okay for you to be up right now?" Soujirou asked Shiroe who flipped through some papers.

"I'm fine, I'm fine." He looked up and smiled, convincing them to begin the meeting.

"That group from earlier seems to have disappeared. None of my scouts could find them." Isaac spoke up.

"Isn't that a good thing?" Michitaka asked casually.

"They were pretty adamant about coming into town though." Marielle pitched in.

"Does it really matter at this point? I think we should move on to issues we can address." Eins said. After a moment of silence, Shiroe realized that they all seemed to be waiting on his opinion.

"Yeah, we should." Shiroe nodded.

The meeting was finished after a few hours and Shiroe once again found himself in front of his bedroom. He decided on turning away but then he received a telepathic call.

It was from Krusty.

"Is something the matter?" Shiroe answered the call. Krusty didn't usually call him.

"Are you free for lunch tomorrow?" Krusty's voice appeared and Shiroe wasn't sure what to say to that.

"Yes, but I'd rather not spend it with you." Shiroe walked into his living room and plopped down on the couch.

"I don't remember inviting you." Krusty was definitely smirking right about now and Shiroe should've seen that one coming.

"So why do you care?"

"Ah, you got me there. I was hoping you could come to D.D.D. and have a chat with me." Krusty replied unfazed by Shiroe rather immature response.

"Is it something important? You can just tell me now." Shiroe asked a bit suspicious.

"I want to talk to you in person about it."

"Meaning there aren't any extenuating circumstances for you having to meet me in person?"

"Come by around twelve. There'll be someone waiting for you at the front."

"Wha-wait-"

Krusty hung up and Shiroe made sure he brought his weapons with him.

* * *

"Shiroe-sama, right this way." A woman with the D.D.D. guild attire led him through the halls of the building. Krusty sure had a lot of money to buy such an amazing place independent from the guild building. Banners, portraits and other beautiful decorations lined the towering walls. Chandeliers hung from the ceiling and Shiroe felt increasingly smaller as the minutes went by. When he finally arrived at some doors, his guide held the door open for him.

Inside the room, it was much duller than he had expected. No fancy carpets and sparkling lights. Just a plain huge roomy room. And a Krusty.

"Normally when someone says to come around twelve, wouldn't you come a bit early?" Krusty asked a bit amused that it was already long past.

"You aren't just someone though." Shiroe replied and took a seat across from Krusty at a rich brown wooden table.

"I'll take that as a compliment." Krusty smiled.

"What did you want to talk about?" Shiroe asked. Krusty pulled out some papers and handed them to him.

"We keep track of everyone who is sent to the Cathedral to make sure nobody loses all of their memories when we manage to get back to the real world. It was your idea."

"This is-"

"Why are you on the list so many times in one day?" Krusty cut him off.

"I was investigating someone and..."

"Save your excuses. I want an honest answer."

How was Shiroe supposed to tell him that he was a suicidal insomniac when he hadn't even acknowledged it himself?

"It's complicated." Shiroe said carefully and tried to read Krusty's expression. This must be why Krusty called him all the way here. If it was a call, Shiroe definitely would've hung up and avoided him until he forgot about it.

"I'm honestly worried about you as a friend." Krusty sighed and examined Shiroe's emotionless face.

"You're just worried about the Round Table." Shiroe attacked back. Wasn't he? When Krusty didn't say anything, Shiroe snapped.

"I'm not an idiot. It was only caught on file because the system is automated. My deaths took place only a week ago and nobody has accessed these papers besides you. We can erase them easily."

Krusty's unwavering gaze caught Shiroe off guard. "You are an idiot."

"Okay, I guess I overlooked this and forgot to erase them myself. But that's-"

"That's not what I mean." Krusty sighed heavily.

"Look, it was a rough day. Drop it please." Shiroe was about to get up when Krusty grabbed his wrist.

"Lack of sleep deprivation? This is dangerous for the Round Table, but its more dangerous for you." Krusty let go of his wrist and took a sip of water. "Stay for a bit longer please."

Shiroe came all of the way here for this, so he sat back down and forced a smile on his face.

"I've been a little... out of sorts lately and I guess you could say that the game has taken a toll on me. I just need some rest." Shiroe didn't see how he would manage to rest but it was probably reassuring to hear. Krusty showed no signs of believing him.

"Then stay here for the night."

Shiroe choked on nothing.

* * *

"I don't see what you're trying to accomplish. If you get someone to watch me while I sleep, they might not survive the night." Shiroe spoke and then looked over to what seemed to be Krusty's assistant.

"No pressure." He let his evil aura leak out and intimidate the poor guy.

"No, he's just a priest that should be able to determine how much you sleep tonight, so I thought I should bring him here to show you first." Krusty motioned the boy forward and he bowed before placing his hand on Shiroe's head.

"He... he didn't sleep last night." The boy blinked, beginning to doubt his abilities. Shiroe quickly moved away and sighed.

"Sweet dreams, Shiroe-kun." Krusty said as he walked out with his assistant following.

"Sir, shouldn't you have kept my ability a secret so we could see how much he would normally sleep? Now that he knows, he'll probably force himself to sleep." The assistant asked.

"I wonder if he _can_ force himself to sleep."

* * *

OMG SO GUYS THERE WILL BE A PART 2 TO THIS AND UMM WE'LL SEE WHERE IT GOES.

Not much romance in this, but I wanted it to be like a pre _dating-love-mwah-mwah-SE...SE...SECOND-DATE_ phase. Aka before they're actually in love.

I'm free this break to write, but I tend to write a few sentences and then be like OMG LOOK A POINTLESS ANIME WITH HOT GUYS and then run away.

Sorry about the wait, but hopefully another part will be up soon!

:D


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